Noise Records

Noise Records
Parent company	Modern Music Records GmbH (1983-2001), Sanctuary Records Group (2001-2007)
Founded	1983
Founder	Karl-Ulrich Walterbach
Status	Defunct
Distributor(s)	Noise International Century Media Records Sanctuary Records Group
Genre	Heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal, doom metal
Country of origin	Germany
Location	Berlin

Noise Records was a German record label founded by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach in 1983 as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. Noise Records specialized in thrash and melodic speed metal. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any activity in 2007 due to the bankruptcy of Sanctuary. The Noise catalogue was consequently acquired by Universal Music Group later on.

History

In 1981, Karl-Ulrich Walterbach founded the independent record company Modern Music Records GmbH in Berlin, Germany. In the first years of activity, the label division called Aggressive Rock Produktionen (AGR) published only punk German-speaking groups (Slime, Daily Terror, Toxoplasma, compilation series like "Soundtracks zum Untergang") and American punk bands (Black Flag with Henry Rollins, Hüsker Dü, Misfits, Angry Samoans, etc.).^[1] In 1983, Walterbach was working closely with Black Flag and the American label SST and was also in contact with American West Coast underground metal bands such as Saint Vitus.

From this nucleus he developed the label Noise Records, which was in 1984 the first specialized outlet for European thrash metal bands such as Kreator, Tankard, Sabbat and Coroner, but released also the works of bands with other metal styles, such as Helloween, Running Wild, Celtic Frost, Grave Digger, Voivod, and Rage. In the early days, there was a two-year collaboration with the New York-based label Megaforce Records, which was the first publisher of Metallica. Through this deal, Noise published under license the albums of American thrash metal band Overkill and at the same time Megaforce issued Grave Digger works in the United States.

Noise Records most successful band was the Hamburg-based speed metal band Helloween, with the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums achieving worldwide top chart positions and sales of over 1 million alone for Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2 in the late 1980s.

A European label deal in 1990 with the German EMI for four bands (Helloween, Running Wild, Celtic Frost, V2) was short-lived, because the management of Helloween decided unilaterally to have the group put under contract directly with the English EMI. The subsequent altogether 16 lawsuits where decided by the German courts in favor of Noise Records^[2] and settled out of court after a two year legal battle.^[3] The settlement cost Helloween a seven-digit figure. The other result of the legal battle was that Helloween stopped releasing albums and touring for two years and then went their own way. With a stylistic change towards pop metal in Pink Bubbles Go Ape their sales declined to 25% of their Noise Records heights and resulted in EMI dropping the band after just two studio albums.

The imprint T&T Records was born in 1993, as a subsidiary of Noise Records and brought to the roster more melodic heavy metal bands (Virgin Steele, Stratovarius, Elegy, etc.), while the cooperation with the Berlin label Hellhound Records in 1994 introduced Noise in the doom metal scene. The productions of Noise Records were sold or licensed through a worldwide distribution in about 42 countries.^[4] In the United States and the United Kingdom the label had its own offices. Noise Records was sold together with the whole Modern Music Group in 2001 to the English Sanctuary Records Group.^[4][5]

After the acquisition by Universal Music Group in August 2007, Sanctuary Records was closed as an independent label.^[6] This at the same time meant the end of Noise Records.

Selected past artists

Bathory Celtic Frost Conception Coroner Dave Sharman Elegy Exciter Gamma Ray Grave Digger

Heavenly Hellhammer Helloween Iron Savior Kamelot Kreator London Messiah Mordred

Overkill Rage Running Wild Sabbat Skyclad Shihad Stratovarius Superior

Tankard Virgin Steele Voivod Warrant Watchtower

See also

• List of record labels

References

1. ^ "die Aggressive Rockproduktionen Diskografie Teil 1" (in German). Highdive Records. September 2010. http://www.highdive.de/info/agr/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
2. ^ Alexander, Peinze (2002). "Die Regeln des EuGVÜ - EMI Records Ltd v Modern Music GmbH". Internationales Urheberrecht in Deutschland und England. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck. pp. 369. ISBN 3-16-147727-8. http://books.google.de/books?id=GuzO9lGWJo4C&pg=PA369&lpg=PA369&dq=emi+modern+music+walterbach&source=bl&ots=jWeyq8kH72&sig=NPLEipp5HOlyPMXHXBb7BJ5Iwzc&hl=it&ei=nz7FTeiZHs3SsgbHqqzJDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=emi%20modern%20music%20walterbach&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
3. ^ E.M.I. RECORDS LTD. v. MODERN MUSIC KARL-ULRICH WALTERBACH G.M.B.H., John Spencer Esq. 665 (Queen's Bench Division 19 April 1991).
4. ^ ^{a b} "Noise Records Rejoins Sanctuary, leaving Century Media". Metal Underground.com. 15 december 2001. http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=1425. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 
5. ^ Masson, Gordon (27 January 2001). "Sanctuary's Expansion Yields Financial Results". Billboard: 8. http://books.google.it/books?id=dhMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=Sanctuary's+Expansion+Yields+Financial+Results&source=bl&ots=k7Z3845yhf&sig=zuFl2xoiZmqiO7HVVd-SIyxKqo4&hl=it&ei=sjvFTb3AHo-Sswbky-WSDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Sanctuary's%20Expansion%20Yields%20Financial%20Results&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
6. ^ Holton, Kate (5 September 2007). "Sanctuary's UK record label to close". Reuters (Thomson Reuters). http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/09/05/universal-sanctuary-idUSL0513450020070905?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true. Retrieved 2011-05-06.